Bomb found at FedEx near airport linked to Austin explosions, authorities confirm

A bomb was found at a FedEx location in Southeast Austin Tuesday.

Author:
Chelsea Cunningham

Published:
7:46 AM CDT March 20, 2018

Updated:
11:04 PM CDT March 20, 2018

A suspicious package found at a FedEx facility west of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Tuesday morning is, in fact, a bomb, U.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett told KVUE's media partners at the Austin-American Statesman.

According to authorities, the package found near the airport and a package that exploded at a FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas are connected to the four previous explosions that happened between March 2 and March 18.

The discovery of the bomb at the Southeast Austin FedEx location happened hours after an explosion at a Schertz, Texas FedEx, 65 miles southwest of Austin, on March 20.

“They’re trying to figure out how to open the package without destroying it,” Doggett, who had been briefed on the Southeast Austin bomb investigation by federal officials, told the Statesman.

Officials confirmed that the Schertz package, containing nails and shrapnel, detonated on a conveyor belt, and it was delivered from a FedEx in the Austin-area.

Sources with ABC News said, in total, there are six devices connected to the explosions in Central Texas: four that exploded in Austin, two of which were deadly; one that detonated at a FedEx in Schertz; and one device that did not detonate at a FedEx near the Austin airport.

Austin police said they were called in at 6:19 a.m. Tuesday, March 20 to the FedEx Ground location in the 4100 block of McKinney Falls Parkway for a suspicious package call.

Employees told KVUE's Jay Wallis the building was evacuated while officials secured the scene.

Austin Senior Police Officer Destiny Winston said officers found a suspicious package at the FedEx; and as a result, the bomb squad and the department's federal law enforcement partners were called in to assist.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said the investigation at the FedEx did not impact trips to and from the city; however, they did suggest that travelers take extra time to arrive at the airport.

Winston said because of the previous suspicious package calls in Austin that killed two people and injured others, the agencies would remain on scene as a precautionary measure.

"If you see anything out of the ordinary or anything suspicious, we are asking that you call 911 immediately," Winston said.

Officer Winston could not confirm if the rumors were true that the suspicious package at the FedEx location in Austin would be detonated in the parking lot.